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Hello and Welcome to the DryForLife
Incontinence Resource

February 16th, 2009

Your day to day guide to living and coping with incontinence.

If you are reading this post, chances are that you are one of the estimated 6 million people in the UK who suffer from incontinence, or perhaps you are searching for help on behalf of a loved one. If so, you’ve come to the right place.

Incontinence is an embarrassing problem that we often keep to ourselves, believing that no one else knows how it feels to suffer from the loss of bladder or bowel control. For some people, this can lead to avoidance of social activities that were once enjoyed; for others, to depression and isolation.

At DryForLife, we understand the importance of discretion. We also understand this condition and how important it is to feel in control of this aspect of your life. Our objective is to provide our clients with quality products, information and solutions to help you cope with incontinence.

Join us as we explore this condition,  striving to keep you up-to-date on the latest information and breakthroughs,  as well as providing you with good, basic information.  For more information, you can email or call our Discreet Advice Helpline or Freephone 0800 180 4325 to find out more about incontinence products available to help you cope on a day-to-day basis.

Frequent Urination in Men May Indicate an Underlying Problem

February 4th, 2010

As men age many of them notice that they feel the need to urinate far more frequently then they did when they were younger. While frequent urination in men is associated with ageing, you should never just assume that your increased frequency is simply due to getting older. If you notice an increase in your bathroom visits, it is a good idea to discuss this change with your health care professional, because there are various causes for frequent urination in men, many of which can be relieved.

If you are unable to sleep through the night without getting up to go to the bathroom, you are suffering from nocturia, which is simply frequent urination during sleeping hours. Normally, you should be able to sleep six to eight hours without waking to go to the bathroom. So if you notice that you are getting up several times during the night to relieve yourself, this is reason enough to have a talk with your doctor.

Sometimes a frequent or urgent need to relieve yourself can be a symptom of a urinary tract infection. The inflammation from the infection affects the bladder reducing its urine holding capacity, and this translates into more frequent bathroom visits. Caffeine in beverages can also irritate your bladder and cause the urge for more frequent urination.

Frequent urination in men can also be a harbinger of diabetes or cancer, or it can occur as the side effect of drugs like diuretics. Another problem that could be occurring is an actual dysfunction of the bladder. One of the more common causes of frequent urination in men is an enlarged prostate gland. This gland surrounds the urethra and functions to secrete seminal fluid. As the prostate grows, it begins applying pressure on the urethra, which carries urine from the bladder to be voided. As the pressure increases, the need to urinate becomes more frequent.

As the prostate gland grows the bladder muscle has to exert more pressure to push the urine through the urethra, and this causes the bladder muscle to become more sensitive and stronger. However, if the prostate continues to grow crowding the urethra more and more, at some point the bladder muscle will not be able to compensate, so it is important to talk to your doctor about this condition as well.

If you notice that your number of bathroom visits has increased during the day or night, you may want to consider several things. Notice if you have begun taking a new medication, and determine if there is anything else other than frequent urination going on. Pay attention to when you have to go to the bathroom, whether day or night or after eating or drinking certain foods. See if your fluid intake has increased, and notice if the colour of your urine is darker than normal. All of this information will be very helpful as you discuss your problem with your doctor to see what the underlying cause is for your frequency problem.

And as you are determining what is causing your problem, there are many incontinence products and protective pants that can help with any leakage that you may be experiencing. While frequent urination in men is common in an ageing population, it should not be considered normal, and discussing it with your doctor during your next exam would be prudent. You may even be pleasantly surprised to find that there is a course of treatment that can dramatically improve or alleviate your frequent need to urinate.

Further Frequent Urination Articles

Bladder Weakness in Women is not Necessarily a Permanent Condition

February 4th, 2010

All too often bladder weakness in women is seen as an inevitable part of ageing. It is also considered just plain embarrassing, which causes far too many women to never bother seeking help for their symptoms. This embarrassment is unfortunate, because four out of five incontinence cases can be completely cured.

While age, childbirth and menopause are factors that increase the risk of urinary incontinence in women, these factors do not guarantee that a woman will suffer from bladder weakness. Urinary incontinence occurs in women when they cannot control their bladder, and any number of things can cause this condition. For women, pregnancy and childbirth are two of the biggest threats to continence, and other factors like surgery, infection, genetics or injury can also cause the problem.

You cannot dictate whether or not damage occurs to your pelvic floor muscles when circumstances are out of your control such as in the case of injury, genetics, surgery or childbirth. However, there are some things that you can do to stack the deck in your favor when it comes to staving off bladder weakness as you age.

If you are overweight, you are putting additional pressure on the muscles of the pelvic floor, which eventually leads to bladder weakness. So, one of the best ways to let nature work in your favor is to give it a helping hand. By eating a healthy diet, getting regular exercise and exercising your pelvic floor muscles regularly, you are giving yourself a fighting chance of maintaining bladder health.

Kegel exercises, which you practice when you are preparing for childbirth, are a great way to maintain strength in your pelvic floor muscles. You are exercising the same muscles that you use to stop the flow of urine mid stream, and by keeping these muscles in good shape, you are keeping the muscles that support your internal organs strong. Keeping these muscles fit not only helps your urinary health, but it helps properly support all of your internal organs.

So while bladder weakness in women may occur at some point in their lives, most of the time, with proper treatment and care, it is only a temporary condition. And as you are working to find a solution for your bladder weakness problem, there are a variety of incontinence products available, which come in many different sizes and absorbencies. Some companies, like DryForLife, even deliver them discreetly right to your front door.

Further Bladder Weakness Articles

Incontinence and Alternative Medicine Offer Sensible Solutions for Managing Incontinence

February 2nd, 2010

The causes of incontinence are numerous and varied, and so are the treatments. Incontinence can be treated or at least managed by many different methods as well. Sometimes a simple behavioral change is enough to alleviate the symptoms of urinary incontinence, and other times medication or surgery may be indicated. If you are dealing with incontinence, you may want to consider supporting your doctor’s recommendations with a natural or alternative medicine.

It is also a good idea to add regular Kegel exercises to your incontinence and alternative medicine efforts. By combining biofeedback, exercise, acupuncture and traditional medicine, you are setting yourself up for success when it comes to managing your urinary incontinence.

Biofeedback helps you understand what you are feeling when you flex your muscles, and what your body is telling you. It can be used to help you perform effective pelvic floor muscle exercises, and it can also help you control your bladder muscles.

Kegel exercises are the exercises that contract your pelvic floor muscles. By performing Kegel exercises correctly and contracting and releasing your pelvic floor muscles, you can strengthen these muscles to help you regain continence. The pelvic floor muscles are important because they support the bladder, urethra and uterus if you are a woman.

Other exercises like yoga and pilates, when practiced correctly can be very helpful for strengthening the muscles of the pelvic floor, which makes both of these exercise disciplines very valuable when it comes to managing urinary incontinence.

Acupuncture has also proven effective in relieving symptoms of urinary incontinence, because it helps to tone muscles and increases the blood flow to the bladder. Acupuncture can also restore hormone balance, reduce inflammation and give the immune system a boost.

Nutrition also plays an important part in maintaining urinary continence. Aside from maintaining a healthy weight, you will want to eliminate foods that can irritate the bladder like acidic foods, such as tomato and grapefruit, caffeine, alcohol, sweetener substitutes, sugar and spicy foods. If you are not sure which foods have an adverse effect on you, keep a food diary and see if any patterns emerge between what you ingest and your incontinence problems.

Incontinence and alternative medicine are a natural fit, and as you are working through the solution to your problem, absorbant pads can free you from the worry of having accidental leakage in public. They come in many different sizes and absorbencies to deal with any problem from mild to severe. They protect clothing and furniture, and they offer protection from skin irritation. DryForLife supplies incontinence pads, which may be ordered online and delivered discreetly right to your front door.

Further Incontinence Articles

Enuresis Nocturna Can be a Nightmare

January 27th, 2010

Bedwetting, or enuresis nocturna, can happen any time that a person falls asleep. While it primarily happens when you are sleeping at night, it could happen if you fall asleep on an airplane or in front of the television. This problem frequently goes unreported simply because it is embarrassing, and it frequently keeps people who suffer from living their life to the fullest. Young adults may forgo the college experience for fear of being found out, and young working adults may pass on a business trip for the same reason. Some young adults may even postpone serious dating lest their partner should find out their shameful secret.

Adult bedwetting can be caused by an overactive bladder, which can cause urinary leakage even during waking hours. An infection like a urinary tract infection, diabetes or kidney disorders can also be the culprits behind nocturnal enuresis. Stress, anxiety, or loss of muscle elasticity can be underlying causes for this condition as well.

If you are suffering from enuresis nocturna, there are some things that you can do to mitigate its symptoms. Start by not drinking anything after dinner. This will help you keep from going to bed with a full bladder. Then limit foods that act like diuretics such as caffeine. You can also set an alarm to wake you in the middle of the night so that you can get up to go to the bathroom, and this should keep your bladder from overfilling. You can also practice holding your urine during the daytime to help increase the size of your bladder.

If you are having problems with enuresis nocturna, talk to your doctor or medical health professional so that they can assess any underlying causes for the problem, which may even help to cure it. While your doctor is helping you solve your problem remember that incontinence pads come in a great variety of shapes, sizes, and absorbencies to deal with mild to severe incontinence. They protect from skin irritation, and are invaluable in protecting clothing and furniture. DryForLife supplies incontinence pads with all of these qualities, allowing you the freedom live your life confidently.

Further Enuresis Articles

Getting Continence Help is Paramount in Adolescence

January 26th, 2010

Getting Continence Help is Paramount in Adolescence

Generally when you think of continence problems, you think of the very young or the very old. However, continence problems occur at any age, and unfortunately, because of the social stigma connected to urinary incontinence, this problem is even more difficult to deal with in adolescence.

A time of massive changes both emotional and physical, the teen years are challenging under the best of circumstances. However, when a young adult is dealing with incontinence issues, they may be even more reluctant than normal to seek continence help.

At this age the types of continence problems that can arise are urinary incontinence, which is urinary leakage. Another fairly common issue is nocturnal enuresis, which is urinating involuntarily while sleeping. Faecal incontinence, which is the involuntary passage of stool, can also be an issue during adolescence.

Genetic abnormalities, accidents or neurological disorders can cause these problems, which require continence help. While the percentage of teens presenting incontinence symptoms is fairly low, many of these young adults carry their continence issues into adulthood, and this is why it is important for these teens to be armed with the proper continence help and information.

It is very important for anyone who works with adolescents to be informed about continence issues, so that they can address the problem with sensitivity when it is presented. Especially at this impressionable age, teens need to understand that there is continence help, and that the condition is not somehow their fault.

When an adolescent is too embarrassed to seek continence help, there is a very real danger of them developing low self-esteem and suffering needless emotional distress. Continence problems can cause a young teen to become socially isolated and excluded as they miss field trips and sleepovers with classmates.

Getting assistance for an adolescent may help them solve or at least confidently manage their continence issues, and as they go forward into their adult years, they will be able to engage in all that life has to offer. The importance of proper assessment and treatment of urinary or faecal incontinence, before it affects a teen’s self worth, cannot be overstated.

If you have an adolescent who is suffering from incontinence, there are treatments and medications that may substantially help their condition, and as you are working to solve their problem, incontinence pads can free them from the worry of having accidental leakage in public. DryForLife supplies incontinence pads, which may be ordered online and discretely delivered.

Further Continence Articles

Bladder Training: Body Building on the Inside

January 26th, 2010

If you suffer from any type of incontinence, bladder training can be a very helpful tool to manage your symptoms. As a matter of fact, it can cut your accidental leakage incidents by over half. Bladder training combines controlling urinary urges and building up your bladder volume. It is a great way for you to get back in tune with your body.

To begin training your bladder, you must first understand it, and the best way to do this is to monitor its behavior. Start by keeping a log of what you drink, when you have to urinate, if you have any leakage, and what you were doing when the urinary leakage occurs. Record your regular behavior for about a week.

At this point you will have a pretty good picture of how your body is functioning now. So if you go to the bathroom about every hour, but you have leakage every forty-five minutes, then begin your bladder retraining by going to the bathroom every half-hour. If you go to the bathroom every two and a half hours with leakage occurring at two hours, then begin your bladder training by going to the bathroom every other hour.

Once you have determined your starting point, then you will want to always go to the bathroom right when you wake up and right before going to sleep. Make sure you stick to your schedule. If your schedule is to urinate every two hours, then make sure that you go to the bathroom every two hours whether you think that you need to or not. By sticking to your schedule, you will keep your bladder from getting too full and leaking. If you have to urinate before you are scheduled to, try to wait. Sometimes doing pelvic floor contractions can help to quiet the urge to go.

When you are sleeping, you do not need to follow your bathroom schedule, but continue keeping your bladder log or bladder diary. As you gain control over your bladder, you will begin to experience fewer problems with leakage, so you will know that your training is successful.

As you notice that you can easily hold your bladder in between scheduled bathroom breaks, it is time to begin increasing the span between bathroom visits. You will want to stretch the time by a half-hour until you are going to the bathroom about once every three to four hours. As you are doing this, try to keep your fluid intake consistent, and in no time at all you will find that you are well on your way to managing your incontinence by following your bladder training techniques.

And as you are working on retraining your bladder, incontinence pants can protect clothing and furniture, and they offer protection from skin irritation. DryForLife supplies incontinence products, which are available online.

Further Incontinence Articles

Managing Continence as You Age

January 14th, 2010

In an aging population managing continence is becoming a more frequent topic for discussion. With millions of people affected by urinary incontinence, which is involuntary urinary leakage, managing continence is creeping out into the light of day.

While the problem of urinary incontinence is generally associated with old age, it can affect people at any age. For many reasons, not the least of which is embarrassment, many of the people who do suffer from some sort of urinary incontinence suffer in silence, which means that they are not seeking out any help for their condition either.

Urinary incontinence is not a disease; rather it is a symptom of some physical, underlying problem. Becoming incontinent is not a natural part of getting old, though there are changes related to aging that can contribute to urinary incontinence. For example, as a person ages they may develop certain physical limitations that make it difficult for them to reach the bathroom.

Another behavior that may accompany aging is not drinking enough fluids, which can cause a couple of continence problems. First, it concentrates the urine, which can irritate the bladder causing more frequent urination. Secondly, it can cause constipation, which can also be a contributing factor in urinary incontinence.

Conditions such as bladder infection, stroke or afflictions that affect the nervous system can also lead to urinary incontinence. Many medications have urinary incontinence as a side effect, where they either act as a diuretic flooding the bladder with liquid, or they reduce awareness or the urge to urinate like muscle relaxants.

As an older adult there are some things that you can do to manage continence on your own, and most of the ideas are pretty simple. If you have a physical limitation that makes it difficult to get yourself to the bathroom, get into the habit of going to the bathroom at regular intervals throughout the day. Every two or three hours visit the rest room whether you feel the urge to go or not. By scheduling your trips to the bathroom before they are urgent, you are giving yourself ample time to get there before you are hit by a sudden urge to go.

The next step in managing continence on your own is to keep your system regular and avoid becoming constipated. Make sure that you drink about five glasses of water per day along with the fluids that you would normally drink. You may also want to cut back on your consumption of drinks with caffeine or alcohol and drink water instead.

If you are still having problems talk to your medical care professional so that they can identify any medical problems that may be causing your incontinence symptoms. And as you are working through the solution to your problem, incontinence pads can free you from the worry of having accidental leakage in public. They protect clothing and furniture, and they offer protection from skin irritation. While you cannot ignore aging, managing continence as you age allows you to enjoy a continued active lifestyle.

Further Continence Articles

Bladder Weakness in Women More Common than you Think

January 6th, 2010

There are many embarrassing moments caused by bladder weakness in women, and bladder incontinence is still an untouched subject. Because of the hush-hush nature of bladder incontinence, there is a lot of incorrect information floating around on the subject.

In the UK by the age of thirty-five one quarter of all women have experienced some sort of bladder weakness symptoms. Only about half of the talk to their doctors about their problem, while the rest suffer in silence. The average time that a woman waits before getting some sort of help is about fifteen years.

Bladder weakness in women can occur for many different reasons with pregnancy and childbirth right at the top of the list. Obesity, constipation and nerve damage can also cause the problem, and menopause can be a culprit as well. Frequently women who suffer from bladder weakness may withdraw from life a little passing up on traveling, exercising and even sex.

There are three types of bladder weakness in women, and they are as follows:

Stress incontinence, or unexpected leakage, can happen anytime undue pressure is exerted on the bladder, which can happen from coughing, laughing, exercise, sneezing or picking up something heavy.

Overflow incontinence occurs when the bladder does not empty all the way, which causes urine to continually build up and dribble out as if the bladder is overflowing.

Urge incontinence presents itself with a sudden strong urge to pass urine. With urge incontinence the bladder tries to empty itself despite a woman’s attempt to restrain the flow.

One of the conditions that all three of these problems frequently share making an environment ripe for incontinence is weak pelvic floor muscles. One of the functions of these muscles is to keep the urethra closed. As they become less elastic over time the slightest amount of undue pressure like laughing or coughing can be enough to cause leakage. There is good news though. Just because these muscles are weak now, does not mean that they have to be weak forever.

There are exercises that a woman can do to help restore the vibrancy of her pelvic floor muscles, and they are called Kegel exercises. Any woman who has had a baby has heard of them, and if you have not had a baby, and you are suffering from incontinence, see your medical professional, because they can instruct you about the proper way to do your Kegel exercises.

In a nutshell, these exercises work on the same muscles that you would engage to stop the flow of urine midstream, so this can give you an idea of which muscles you would be conditioning. While it takes a while for a woman to realize the results of her pelvic floor exercises, up to six months, if she is diligent and patient she is almost guaranteed to see an improvement in her bladder weakness condition.

If you suffer from bladder weakness in women, as you are working to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, incontinence pads can free you from the worry of having accidental leakage in public. They come in many different sizes and absorbencies to deal with any problem from mild to severe and protect skin, clothing and furniture. DryForLife supplies incontinence pads, which may be ordered online and delivered discreetly right to your front door.

Further Bladder Weakness in Women Articles

 
 
 

 

Using Adult Incontinence Diapers and Pads Can Help You Cope

January 5th, 2010

There are an estimated six million people that have problems with bladder control in the UK. If you are dealing with bladder incontinence, it is important to choose adult incontinence diapers or pads that are right for your specific needs. The questions that most people ask are; “Where do I get them?”; “How do I know what size or kind to get?”; What is the cost?” These are all important questions to ask as you are researching which products will best work for you. And of course the main question that is on everyone’s mind is, will anyone know that I am wearing them?

Size and absorbency of any adult incontinence product is very important to know. Making sure that you have the right fit to prevent overflow and to fit your lifestyle is a must when choosing the best product for you. To choose the right fit you will need your waist measurement, which will help you to determine the right size. Incontinence diapers for adults usually come in small/medium 61 – 92cm waist, large 92 – 117cm waist, and extra large which are generally up to a 170cm waist.

Once you have chosen the correct waist size the next step is to think about the fit around the legs. Getting a proper fit around the leg can help protect from overflow accidents. There are products that come with some stretch to the leg, and for those with no stretch you will need to be sure the tapes are securely fastened so that it fits the contours of your body. A proper fit will keep any incontinence product from being seen under clothes when out in the public.

Knowing the amount of urine that occurs with incontinence allows you to determine what absorbency you will need. People with heavy incontinence episodes will need the highest level of absorbency that they can get when purchasing any adult incontinence product. People that cannot get to the bathroom to change frequently will also need a higher absorbency incontinence product. If you have stress incontinence with a small amount of urine leaking, then a lighter absorbency will suffice.

While you can compare pricing on adult incontinence products, first an foremost you should look for quality, because they will work properly and save you a lot of aggravation in the long term. Adult incontinence products can be ordered from the Internet and discretely shipped to your home. You may also purchase them close to home; however, due to the embarrassment that a lot of people feel about their incontinence problems they prefer to order them from an outside source.

With the number of people estimated to have problems with urinary incontinence the need for appropriate referral to a healthcare professional is the first step in managing the problem. Urinary incontinence is a symptom that frequently is a harbinger of some underlying, more serious problem, and this is why people should seek the assistance of a healthcare professional such as an incontinence nurse. A doctor or nurse will be able to help treat the symptoms or complications that can occur with incontinence, and they may even be able to prescribe a cure for the condition.

Adult incontinence diapers and pads can allow those who suffer from incontinence the confidence to live their lives free of worry. They come in many sizes and absorbencies and deal with mild to severe incontinence. They afford the wearer comfort and protection from skin irritation and are invaluable in protecting clothing and furniture. DryForLife supplies adult incontinence diapers and pads with all of these qualities, allowing people that suffer from adult incontinence the freedom to live their lives to the fullest.

Further Adult Incontinence Articles

When Bladder Continence Can No Longer Be Taken for Granted

December 31st, 2009

Bladder continence is something that everyone takes for granted when you are young and healthy, however we are all just one mishap away from losing our bladder continence. If we are lucky enough to live a long and active life, the odds of having some problem with bladder continence is almost certain. As continence problems arise, they can be addressed with medication, surgery, behavior modification and exercise, and we will discuss the latter.

Let’s talk about achieving urinary continence with exercises. First, we need to look at the anatomical differences in men and women. Men have a broader pelvis with more room to hold a bladder. This is an extremely important fact because when the bladder expands it has to have surroundings conducive to holding a full bladder. Because of this, men are able to hold more urine for longer amounts of time. The opposite is true of women. A female pelvis is shallower, so when the bladder fills there is less space in the floor of the pelvic cavity. This causes it to hold less urine, and it may need to be emptied more frequently.

There is also the physical difference for women and that is an extra organ, the uterus. As women age, the uterus ages also, what was once a fist shaped organ begins to enlarge, most commonly from fibroid tumors. This organ sits almost on top of the bladder and weighs heavy on the bladder. Women who have had pregnancies are more apt to develop problems at a younger age than women who have never been pregnant. During childbirth the bladder is traumatized in many ways, for example the growing uterus gives very little space to a full bladder. As the baby grows in utero, it seems to sit right on top of the bladder causing frequent urination. During vaginal childbirth, the birth canal must stretch to accommodate the baby’s head causing more trauma to the bladder.

Whether your incontinence is simply caused by age, pregnancy, surgery or some other trauma it is a good idea to keep your pelvic floor muscles tuned up. Frequently doing Kegel exercises, which engage the muscles of the pelvic floor, can help retain continence and can even rebuild it. The exercises are named after Dr. Arnold Kegel who developed them in 1948 as a way to re-establish bladder continence for women after childbirth. Since then medical professionals have discovered that these exercises work equally well for men and women when it comes to maintaining continence.

The exercises are very simple and can be done anywhere without anyone knowing you are doing them. It is only the matter of relaxing and contracting the muscles of the pelvic floor. These exercises help to improve urethral, rectal and rectal sphincter function. They are also recommended for men after prostate surgery as they work to regain bladder continence. Kegel exercises must be done correctly and faithfully in order to be effective, so check with your doctor if you have any questions about the proper method of exercise.

Since it takes several months to realize the full benefits of Kegel exercises, you will want to have some good quality incontinence products available in the interim. DryForLife offers a discreet and completely confidential solution to all of your incontinence needs. We have been providing incontinence products for over forty years, and we are here to help.

Further Continence Articles

 

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